First Third of 2011 Dakar Race: The Atacama Desert Challenge

Today (Friday, Jan. 7th) the 33rd Dakar rally will reach its sixth stage of 14 and the crucial "rest day" before the punishing trek back into Argentina from Chile. The riders, who set out from Buenos Aires on New Year's Day have raced across several thousand kilometres of diverse terrain and the harsh demands of the Atacama Desert -- the driest place on the planet in the first week of the 16-day challenge.



Here's a video summary of the race at stage six with Marc Como, the Despres-Faria duo and Helder Rodrigues out front and within minutes of each other.

Designed to test both riders and machinery to the limits of endurance, the race loops through Argentina and Chile, covering 9,000 kilometers and a huge variety of terrain that also includes the Andes Mountains.

The 2011 Dakar Rally reached full registration in the bike and quad categories four months before the start of the race that includes bikes, quads, cars and trucks.

Several thousand kilometres of diverse terrain and the harsh demands of the Atacama Desert have been completed so far.